


You Make Me Feel, You Make Me Blush

by butteredpopcorn



Category: RWBY
Genre: Blake is tired, Crushes, F/F, Fluff, Multi, Pre-OT3, written pre-season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-04-06 21:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4237983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butteredpopcorn/pseuds/butteredpopcorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In her third year at Beacon, Blake falls back into a bad habit. Pyrrha and Ruby are worried.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Feelings Bullshit

**Author's Note:**

> I started this about a year ago pre-episode 6, and then a bunch of personal stuff happened and I never really got around to finishing it. I have the entire outline finished, but I honestly don’t know when (or if) I’m going to be able to finish this. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> A lot of this is just fluffy trash about friends and me disregarding canon.....

It had been some time since Blake was this tired. 

The last time had probably been back in her first year of Beacon when the guilt and worry of the White Fang was still fresh in her mind. For weeks on end, all she could think of was Torchwick and his plans.

She has only hazy memories of ignoring her teammates' worries and spending her nights poring over maps of Vale, muttering to herself. The whole experience was a blur of anxiety and guilt. She has always had trouble keeping her impulses in check when under pressure.

And now the pressure is turned way up.

Two weeks ago, she had come down with a nasty case of the flu and ended up missing almost a week and a half of school. Now finals are approaching and she is almost impossibly far behind in all of her classes. Every year at Beacon is difficult, but Beacon's third year finals are notorious for being damn near impossible. If she has to sacrifice sleep in order to catch up, so be it. Her health can wait. School cannot.

Blake is rereading her History notes when the door to the room opens and Pyrrha and Ruby spill in, giggling over something.

"Oh!" Pyrrha says when she sees Blake. "I didn't expect you to be up so late, Blake."

"Yeah, you okay?" Ruby asks, worry seeping into her tone. "Recently, you've been looking tired." 

"I'm fine." Blake says flatly. She is already stressed enough. She doesn’t need her teammates worrying about her as well.

"You sure? You really don't look so good." Ruby comes a few steps closer, peering at the obvious bags beneath Blake's eyes.

"I'm fine, Ruby." Blake says, a nasty tone working into her voice. Pyrrha frowns and raises an eyebrow. Blake softens her voice and says, "I swear I’m fine, okay? I just have to finish up this chapter and then I'm going to sleep."

Ruby hums, unimpressed. 

"I'm fine, seriously!"

"Okay, okay! I'll back off, jeez." Ruby huffs and turns back to Pyrrha. "I had a lot of fun tonight, Pyrrha. But you should get going. Jaune is probably worried about you."

Pyrrha hums deep in her throat and says, "Jaune can wait. He doesn't need to constantly worry about me. I can take care of myself."

Ruby raises an eyebrow.

Pyrrha raises one in return. 

Ruby sighs and flaps an arm at her. “Stay if you want, I guess. I gotta pee.”

When Ruby has disappeared into the bathroom, Pyrrha turns to Blake again. "Make sure to take care of yourself, Blake. No matter how much you study, you won't do well on the finals if you haven't had enough rest."

Blake sighs and runs a hand through her bangs. "I'm well aware of the perils of sleep deprivation. Don't you remember my little stunt in first year?"

"Yes, I do remember that. I also remember what it took to pull you out of it."

"God, don't remind me." 

"You brought it up," Pyrrha points out. When Blake says nothing in return, Pyrrha continues, "Just remember that your health is the most important thing."

Blake feels a flash of irrational anger, red hot beneath her skin.

“Yeah.”

Pyrrha steps in and wraps her arms around Blake's shoulders, squeezing her generous cleavage almost directly into Blake's face. She feels her anger dissipate, and her face go aflame, the blush showing through her dark skin. "Sleep well, Blake. It won't do you well to fall ill this close to finals week." Pyrrha squeezes tighter for a moment and then steps back.

Blake croaks out another, "Yeah," and Pyrrha walks out of the room.

Blake stares at the wall for almost a full minute before she begins working again. She doesn't know why her emotions always insist on doing this to her. 

She has got enough stress from school without her silly little crush flaring up again.

~~ 

Blake is in even worse spirits the following morning. She only has about a week left until finals. 

"Thank god it's Friday!" Yang says as she slams her tray down. Blake hums a reply into her cup of coffee.

Yang studies her for a moment before she says, "How are you doing for finals?" Blake gives her a hard glare. "Stressed out, I take it?”

“I don’t need to be mothered,” Blake snarls.

“I'm just saying, Blake! You look really stressed, and last night I saw a light on really late. Like, at two in the morning."

"Why were you up at two anyway?"

"Weird dream woke me up." Yang shrugs and stabs her eggs with her plastic fork. "You should really start trying to go to bed earlier, Blake. Lack of sleep is never fun." 

"I'm well aware of the perils of sleep deprivation."

"That's the fourth time this week I've heard you say that exact sentence! This is just proving my point."

"That's because it's true, Yang. I can take care of myself."

"That's what they always say," Jaune drops his tray next to Yang, Pyrrha setting hers to his right. 

"I work slower with other people. And I don't procrastinate. I'm fine." Blake takes another sip from her cup.

"She has a point." Weiss says. "She rarely procrastinates, and all we do is distract her when we try to help."

Yang points her fork at Weiss accusingly. "You are not helping! Blake needs rest. She's starting to act like you!" Weiss shouts something defensive, and the two begin to squabble. Ruby and Nora choose that time to begin stealing napkins to fold paper cranes, claiming that they are going to fold a thousand of them by finals week.

Pyrrha smiles at Blake, and Blake's heart skips a beat.

Blake guzzles down the rest of her coffee and says, "I'm going to wait in Oobleck's room until class starts."

They let her go.

As Blake walks down the hall towards the lecture hall, her mind wanders back to Pyrrha. Blake has admired Pyrrha for some time now. She is smart, capable and caring. She stands at the top of their class, but is still modest about her skills. Not to mention that she is beautiful and captivating.

But is Pyrrha even interested in romance? She has never dated anyone in the time that Blake has known her.

Back in first year, when they'd all first became friends, Blake had noticed Pyrrha gravitating towards Jaune. She had never understood what Pyrrha had seen in him, but whatever it was, it has faded to friendship by now.

Once, while their teams had been engaging in some teenage drunken debauchery, Pyrrha came out as bisexual. She also said that every boy was too intimidated by her fighting skills to date her and every girl was too jealous of her to think that she could ever be more to them. 

So Pyrrha wasn’t straight.

So that means Blake has a chance. But, Pyrrha liking girls didn't mean that she is necessarily attracted to Blake. Or that she is interested in anyone right now. 

Blake groans and rubs her eyes. She is way too tired for this feelings bullshit.

~~

By the time her lunch period rolls around, Blake is feeling a little better. Watching Oobleck speed around talking about Dust mining for three hours has woken her up a little. But she’s still feeling worn out. It's time for lunch, and more caffeine.

She sits down at the usual table with a tuna sandwich and coffee. Pyrrha is the only other one there, the rest of the group lagging behind.

Her eyes narrow at the sight of Blake's cup. "Another coffee?"

Blake takes a bite of her sandwich and nods. Pyrrha opens her mouth to say something else, but is distracted when Ruby and the others begin to take their seats. 

"Hey," Pyrrha says, smiling at Ruby.

"Hey! How was history?" 

"It was fine." Pyrrha's leg is jiggling a little, and it's shaking the table. "Oobleck went off on another rant about Dust distribution."

"Again? He's starting to sound like Port." 

"Yes, he is." Pyrrha's leg stops moving, and she takes a breath. "Hey, um, did you hear about that new movie?"

"You mean the one with the robot soldiers?" Ruby says, "Yeah, I've been really excited for it! It looks great."

"Yes, that one. There's a showing of it at six tonight in the Vale theater. Would you, um, be interested in seeing it with me?" Pyrrha's smile crinkles around the edges. Blake stops eating, suddenly hollow.

Oh. So Pyrrha does have her eyes on someone.

"Sure! We could go get ice cream after too." Ruby says, taking a huge bite out of her apple. Pyrrha's smile begins to glow and she nods happily. Blake feels her chest tighten. "That place we found yesterday was really good!"

"That sounds like it'll be fun," Yang comments.

"Wanna come with?" Ruby asks around the food in her mouth. Pyrrha's smile fades. Blake feels a flash of sympathy for her.

First Jaune, now Ruby. Poor Pyrrha can't seem to fall for someone who has their act together. Two for two must suck.

Weiss gives Ruby a disgusted look. "Swallow before you speak. It's rude to talk with your mouth full." 

"Whatever, Weiss." Weiss makes an outraged noise somewhere between a goose and a duck. "So who's coming with us?" 

"Oh! We are! We are!" Nora shouts, yanking Ren's arm up and down. A generous amount of soup flies off his spoon and lands on Weiss's salad, and she makes another unpleasant squawk.

"Sounds fun! I'm in." Jaune grins toothily at Ruby. Pyrrha is looking more and more pained with each positive reply. 

"Yeah! Team Movie Night is making a comeback!" Yang shouts, throwing her arms in the air. 

"Will all of you stop! I'm trying to eat here, and you keep disrupting my peace and quiet!" Weiss shouts. Yang sticks her tongue out at Weiss, and Weiss makes a face back.

Blake sighs and turns back to her food. 

"Guys..." Ruby whimpers anxiously, "Stop... People are staring." 

"Leave them be. They're a lost cause when they get like this."

"Yeah, I know. It's just... they're so... loud." 

Blake snorts quietly. "And that's never going to change, Ruby." 

"No, I guess not." Ruby sighs and turns her attention back to her plate.

~~ 

It’s her study period, and Blake has a lot to do if she is going to attend that movie tonight. Blake scopes out a good, empty table in a part of the library that no one is using, and pulls out her study materials. 

She then spends ten minutes staring blankly at the chapter title. 

This isn't working. All she can think of is Pyrrha's beaming smile. She shouldn't be letting herself feel like this when it's this close to finals. She has spent the last three years surrounded by gorgeous warrior women, and this has never happened to her.

But she has liked Pyrrha in a more than friendly way for a while. And sure, she’s entertained thoughts of asking her out. But she never thought it would get this bad!

The more Blake thinks about this whole situation, the more the pit in her stomach grows. The feelings aren't even mutual. Pyrrha obviously likes Ruby, and the two already spend a lot of time together. Unfortunately for Pyrrha, Ruby is oblivious to her advances.

Blake groans and puts her head in her hands. She needs to focus, not daydream about pretty girls.

Maybe a change of scenery will do her some good. She's spent so much time in the library in the past week that the air feels strange and stuffy. Maybe she should go outside and read in the sun. The more Blake thinks about it, the better it sounds.

She packs up her things once more and moves out onto the lawn.

The sun is shining brightly, and a few wispy white clouds drift across the sky. It's a beautiful. Blake chooses a nice spot beneath a shady tree and begins to study. The change of scenery definitely helps, and Blake manages to read a good bit into her textbook.

"Hey, Blake!"

That is, until Sun decides to drop in. 

He lands firmly on his feet, grinning at her. She squints at him and says, "You're in my light."

"What? Am I not sunny enough for you?" Sun says with a wink.

She doesn't appreciate the pun. She sighs and says, "You're still in my light."

Sun laughs and sits next to her. "Alright, alright. So, whatcha doin? Studying?"

"Yes." 

"Need help?"

"No." 

Sun groans and puts his hands behind his head, stretching his legs out in front of him. "What's got your bow in a bunch?”

"I need to study," Blake says pointedly. When Sun doesn't reply, she continues, "I want to be left alone."

Sun groans again and kicks his legs like a child. "Why do you need to study so bad? Aren't you, y'know, super duper smart?"

"You don't get super duper smart with no effort, Sun. Please just let me study. I want to finish all of this reading so I can go to a movie with my team."

"A movie?" Sun leaps up. Blake instantly regrets saying it. If Sun decides to bring his team, Weiss might throw another fit. She never really got over the whole Neptune thing, and she's been in a mood lately. "I love movies!"

"As do I. And if I don't finish this book, I won't be able to go." Blake attempts to give him a glare, but the effect is ruined when she yawns widely.

"Alright, alright. I get the message." Sun chuckles. "You should try getting some sleep. You kinda look like shit."

"Thanks a lot, Sun." Blake grumbles.

"No problem! Alright, well, later! Expect to see me at the movies.” Sun walks away and raises a hand in farewell.

"Okay." Blake mumbles to herself, and she finally begins to study.

She has a lot of work to get done.

~~

Blake doesn't finish all of her work. She adamantly refuses to go. 

"You need a break!" Yang says.

"Yeah, it isn't healthy to always work so hard, Blake!" Ruby agrees, putting her hands on her hips.

"I need to study," Blake says, shaking her head. "I'm not going."

"Please, go with us. Don't leave me alone with these idiots!" Weiss begs.

"I'm not going."

"Come on!" Yang whines, stomping her foot. "You can study after. Or this weekend! You don't have to do all your stupid studying now."

"No."

Ruby claps her hands and grins at her. "Let's put it to a vote!"

"Doesn't matter. I'm not going."

She is overpowered three to one and dragged along anyway.

When they finally get to the theater, Ruby and Yang instantly begin arguing over the best seat. Neptune and Sun both showed up early, and Weiss won't stand within 10 feet of them or look in their direction. Nora has already spilled her popcorn over everyone, and Ren looks kind of constipated.

The night is shaping up to be a disaster, and the movie hasn't even started yet.

The group takes up a whole row and Blake ends up sandwiched between Sun and Pyrrha. She'd be a lot more content with her placement if Sun would stop telling her loudly to move her drink. He stops bothering her after she hisses at him to, "ask Neptune to move his fucking drink!”

The movie is over two hours long and filled with loud explosions.

Blake falls asleep after ten minutes.

"Blake!" Sun whispers to her once the credits are rolling. "Blake!" He shifts his shoulder against hers heavily, and she jerks awake. 

"What's goin’ on?" She mumbles, rubbing her eyes. 

"The movie is over. We're gonna wait for the secret credit scene, and then we're gonna go." Sun informs her, and he turns back to Neptune.

Blake stares blankly at the credits, settled into her seat in all the right ways. She is struggling to keep her eyes open. The coffee she drank seems so long ago. When she gets back to the room, she has to finish the rest of her reading. She's on a strict schedule, and she can't fall behind. She yawns widely, stretching her legs against the empty seat in front of her.

"Did you sleep through all of that?" Pyrrha asks.

Blake nods and says, "Yeah, I guess so."

"How? It was filled with explosions and screaming. It was really loud." 

Blake shrugs. "I guess I was really tired."

Pyrrha's forehead creases. "How many hours of sleep did you get last night?" 

Blake thinks for a second, "I went to bed at two forty and woke up at eight. So about five."

Pyrrha stares at her and asks, "Have you been getting that much sleep all week?" She sounds worried.

"No."

Pyrrha looks relieved.

"I've been getting less, honestly." 

"Less?" Pyrrha looks as if Blake just informed her that she hasn't slept in months, not a week. Pyrrha has never understood the concept of anything less than eight to ten hours of sleep every night. "How much less?" 

"It's been pretty low this week. Four to five hours a night, maybe? We've had a lot of homework, and I'm really behind. I don't think I slept at all on Tuesday." Blake laughs quietly. She looks back at the screen. "Hey, the extra scene is playing."

She doesn't see Pyrrha's horrified look. 

~~

They finally get to the ice cream parlor at 9:30. It's a small, modest place in a corner of a shopping mall. The man running the counter smiles at them. 

"What can I get for you all?" He says. Nora grins wildly at him and his smile starts to falter.

"What are you going to get?" Ruby asks Blake, tugging on her sleeve.

Blake scans the menu, thinking. "Raspberry marble."

"Ooh, good choice! I'm going to go for cookie dough, I think." 

"Not strawberry?"

"Nah. Not in the mood." Ruby grins crookedly at her, and Blake smiles back.

She turns back to the front, watching Nora bounce around excitedly.

They order their ice cream and mill around while the man scoops out their orders.

She slides into the booth next to Weiss. Weiss is in the process of thoroughly explaining to Pyrrha the differences between soy and dairy ice cream, and is firmly telling her that, "-there are so many differences between them, that you might as well call them completely different products! I cannot believe they do not have soy flavors here, how disrespectful!" Pyrrha is nodding along, but the point is obviously lost on her.

Blake feels kind of bad for her, but she isn't willing to throw herself under the bus. 

"Hey!" Sun sits next to her and slides a cup of ice cream over. "Raspberry marble, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Blake accepts the cup, smiling at him.

"Feeling better after that nap?" Sun places a bit of the whipped cream from his banana split in her cup. "You looked grumpy this afternoon."

"Yeah, I was feeling pretty shitty." 

"Looked like it too," Sun laughs when she glares at him. "Joking!" 

His smile softens and he says, "I'm glad you're starting to feeling better though. You gotta take better care of yourself, Blake."

She smiles at him. "Sun, I'm really sorry about that whole... thing." 

"It takes more than you being grumpy to hurt my feelings." 

"No, not that," Blake takes a spoonful of ice cream. "I mean, back in first year. I didn't mean to-"

"Blake, we've been over this." Sun puts a hand on her shoulder. "I forgive you. You didn't mean to mess around with my feelings. We both misinterpreted things. I had no clue you didn't like boys, and you had no clue that I liked you! So don't feel bad, okay?"

"Okay." Blake mouths, and she takes another bite of ice cream.

~~

By Sunday evening, her mood has taken a turn for the worse. She has been studying nonstop over the past three days. Her coffee drinking habits have begun to rival Oobleck's, and she feels restless. Her skin feels like it is constantly prickling, moving and stretching across her bones. Her scalp constantly itches, and the fight to keep her second pair of ears upright takes up half of her concentration.

She thinks she is falling apart.

Her teammates have been trying to get her to take a break all day, but now they've mysteriously disappeared. Blake welcomes the peace and quiet.

Until suddenly the book that she is taking notes from is ripped away from her. 

"Hey!" Blake shouts, jumping up. "Give that back!" 

Ruby glares back at her. She has a fire in her eyes that Blake has never seen in her before. It makes her look like Yang, burning bright with the protective fire that runs within the Rose-Xiao Long sisters. She looks older, taller, and more mature. 

"You, Blake Belladonna, need to sleep!" Ruby accuses. She slams Blake's book, now closed, on Yang's desk. Blake jumps a little. "You're losing it! You're stressed and anxious and jumpy! You need sleep."

"No, I don't. I'm fine."

"Blake," Pyrrha says from the door, "You told me that you've been getting less than four hours of sleep a night for the past week. The average person needs at least eight hours of sleep to properly function. You really do need to sleep."

Blake glares at her and hisses, "Traitor." 

"See? Pyrrha and I have been really worried. She hasn't said anything because she knows that you think you're fine, but you're really, really not." Ruby says, grabbing Blake's arm. "It's almost midnight. You need to sleep."

Blake blinks and says, "It's midnight? I could have sworn it was six only an hour ago." Ruby gives Pyrrha a pleading look. Pyrrha smiles gently at Blake and puts a gentle hand on the small of her back.

"Come on, Blake. You can finish your work tomorrow.”

Blake sighs through her nose and rubs her forehead. The room is spinning and swaying, and if she’s being honest with herself, she can’t focus anymore. She might as well sleep a little bit.

“Fine,” She says.

Pyrrha smiles. She slowly leads Blake to her bunk and gently pushes her towards it. "Time for bed."

Blake blinks at her. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you sleep," Pyrrha pushes at her again. 

"I don't-" Blake stares at her, mouth hanging open.

"Come on, Blake," Ruby says. She sits on the edge of Blake's bunk and smiles invitingly. "It's time for bed." She reaches out and catches Blake's arm again. She pulls her on the bed, and gently lays her down.

"What the hell?" Blake says aloud, staring at the bottom of Yang's bunk. For a brief moment, she wonders where Yang has gone. But then Pyrrha climbs in beside her and wraps her arms around Blake and all thoughts fly out of her head. Blake feels like she is lying on a cloud.

Ruby grips her left arm, curling her knees into Blake's side. Her head settles onto Blake's bicep. It's a warm, comforting weight.

Blake feels as if she is floating in a pool on a warm, sunny day, drowning in the warmth of the sun and the drowsiness of the water. Everything smells like pears and roses. She tries to fight the drowsiness, but it's too tempting.

Soft lips press against her right cheek. "The hell..." Blake mumbles. She can feel herself getting pulled under the water. 

"Shhh.... Sleep, Blake." Pyrrha soothes softly in her ear. A hand smooths hair off of Blake's forehead and someone kisses her cheek again.

"Sleep." She wants to give in so, so badly. A corner of her brain reminds her of all the textbook work waiting for her, but Blake is so sleepy, and so warm. Ruby nuzzles into Blake's ribs and sighs happily. 

Slowly, she drifts off into darkness.

She doesn't dream.


	2. I Kinda Wanna Be More Than Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake breaks out of one destructive habit, but falls victim to something even worse: having emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’m such a slow writer, I have a million and one personal issues and they all came back full force last semester. But I’m not ever going to abandon a story completely. Sometimes it just takes me a while to write it.
> 
> I haven't watched season 3 by the way! I want to finish this fic before I do, as backwards as that is. This chapter is mostly filler, just establishing more relationships and strengthening the existing ones.

Blake wakes up a little before 9 in the morning, with both Pyrrha and Ruby gone.

She disentangles herself from the blankets and dangles her feet off the bed. She still feels like a zombie, but at least her head no longer feels like someone stuffed a two ton bag of cotton in it. She sits on the edge of her bed for a while, fighting the temptation to curl back up in bed.

That is how Pyrrha finds her, swaying gently and her eyes wanting to flutter closed.

“You’ve woken up already?” Pyrrha asks, raising an eyebrow. She is dressed in tiny black shorts and a matching sports bra. Judging from the sweat dotting her brow, she’s been exercising.

“How the hell are you exercising in the middle of fucking finals week?” Blake says dully, trying not to stare at Pyrrha’s absurdly toned abs.

“I just went for a jog,” Pyrrha walks to the makeshift kitchen counter and busies herself with the coffee maker. “Nothing that taxing.”

“Pyrrha,” Blake says slowly, “I am half dying and you are going for morning jogs.”

Pyrrha gives a low chuckle. “You shouldn’t compare yourself to others so often, Blake. Everyone has different limits.”

“You’re still ridiculously perfect, Pyrrha.” Blake stands and ambles over to the counter, where Pyrrha is starting to visibly struggle with the technology. 

“Well, I’m not as perfect as I seem, because I can’t get this stupid piece of-” Pyrrha smacks the side of the coffee maker, hard.

“You didn’t turn it on yet. Here.” Blake presses the on switch, and the machine begins to work.

“Oh, really? I didn’t even turn it on!? For the love of-” Pyrrha smacks the counter, this time, and exhales hard through her nose. Blake watches, holding back giggles, as Pyrrha gathers herself. “I hate technology, Blake. I truly do.”

Blake throws her head back and laughs, “Yeah, I can see that.”

Pyrrha watches her with a smile. She clears her throat quietly and says, “So, how did you sleep?”

“I slept well, actually. And I needed the rest.”

“Yes, you did,” Pyrrha raises an eyebrow at Blake. “You were exhausted. I don’t know how you let yourself get to that point.”

Blake feels a cold pit of dread settle in her stomach. She really doesn’t want to talk about this. “Well, you know, finals week is stressful.”

Pyrrha hums once. Blake can feel her staring a hole into the side of her head, but she doesn’t reply. “Blake.” Pyrrha says firmly.

Blake sighs deeply, her whole body rising and falling with the breath. “I just worked so hard to get into Beacon, and I don’t want to throw it away because of a stupid cold,” Blake ducks her head away. “I need to be ahead of the game. I can’t be behind.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You know why.” Blake reaches out to fiddle with the coffee machine. “Everyone wants to push me down. I have to be twice as good to get half the credit, and I’ve worked too damn hard for this to let it go now.”

Pyrrha reaches out and places her hand over Blake’s. She squeezes it lightly.

“Blake, you are one of the smartest, strongest, and talented hunters I’ve ever seen, and I know for a fact,” Pyrrha says, “That you will succeed in anything and everything that you do. Anyone who says otherwise is not worth your time.”

Blake’s chest tightens, but she doesn’t say anything. She looks back at the coffee machine. She’s not ready for this. She’s still tired, she still has so much to do to catch up. She can’t let herself falter just because a pretty girl claims to believe in her.

The long, quiet moment hangs in the air, heavy and stifling, until finally the coffee maker beeps. Blake immediately busies herself with it, happy to have a distraction from the silence. Pyrrha moves her gaze to Blake’s hands.

Blake tosses a sugarcube into her cup and then takes a sip. She stares at Pyrrha out of the corner of her eye, examining her.

“So,” Blake begins, taking another sip, “Ruby, huh?”

That startles Pyrrha out of her reverie, red instantly flushing up her neck. “I-I don’t know what you mean.” She reaches out for the coffee maker, but thinks better of it and crosses her arms.

Blake hums once, looking pointedly at Pyrrha. Pyrrha’s face is bright, bright red. Instantly she has gone from a strong, unflappable warrior to a flustered, blushing mess. Blake can’t help but grin. Pyrrha sees it and her blush spreads up to her ears, and she begins to stammer.

“It’s ok, I get it.” Blake says, feeling a little bad for her. “She’s got that sweet innocence mixed in with Xiao Long confidence. It’s irresistible.”

Pyrrha sneaks a curious look at Blake. “So, you-” She flaps a hand about, not knowing how to approach whatever she’s trying to ask. “As well?”

“What?” Blake asks, raising an eyebrow.

“You know…” Pyrrha continues to flap her hand around.

“Pyrrha I am honestly completely lost.”

“Do you have… feelings for her as well?” Pyrrha awkwardly crosses her arms again, shoulders hovering near her ears.

Blake blinks. The answer that immediately comes to mind is no, but that isn’t the complete truth. It’s very difficult not to develop some feelings when you are constantly surrounded by three beautiful girls. Even Blake doesn’t have that much control over her emotions. 

So sure, Blake has thought about it before. Blake isn’t pining or something ridiculous like that, but saying a hard no isn’t exactly accurate. She doesn’t know if she wants to tell Pyrrha that. She’ll definitely get the wrong idea.

“No,” Blake decides. It’s a lie, but it isn’t the time to get into this whole debacle. “I’ve thought about it, but no.”

“Ah.” Pyrrha’s shoulders drop a little bit, but she still looks extremely uncomfortable. She opens her mouth and then closes it again. Blake waits for her to spit it out, but Pyrrha has obviously had second thoughts about whatever it was she was going to say.

“Um, well I’ve got to shower and get to class. So I’ll see you, um, later?” Pyrrha shuffles awkwardly.

“Yeah, you will. I’m gonna try to make it to dinner.” Pyrrha looks pleasantly surprised and finally relaxes.

“Good! Well, then I guess I’ll go then.” 

“Yeah, see you.” Blake watches her leave over the rim of her coffee cup. 

Just as Pyrrha is about to shut the door, she pauses. “Don’t tell Ruby about all… of that. Please.”

“It’s between you and her, not her and me.”

Pyrrha nods at Blake, offering a small smile and she closes the door firmly behind her.

~~

By the time Blake gets out of class, she’s feeling better. Her crazed studying did some good, and she is further along than she thought she was, meaning she can add in some time for dinner and sleep. It’s almost lunch, but she plans to hole up in the library and revise her studying schedule. She still has a lot to do, but it all seems more manageable. 

And admittedly, Pyrrha’s little pep talk did have an effect.

She’s thirty minutes into studying when Ruby sits down on the other side of the table. Ruby slides a lunch tray, piled high with various foods, into the space between them. 

Most of them, she notes, are all of Blake’s favorites.

“Blake.” Ruby says flatly, “Are we really gonna have to resort to force? Because I will go there, don’t think I won’t.”

“Stop worrying so much. I’m going to eat.”

Ruby frowns, “Well, I don’t see you eating! It’s lunch and you’re still here in the library!”

Blake reaches over and grabs an orange. “I’ve only been here for thirty minutes, and I don’t have any more classes today. I was going to eat later.” Later meant six hours from now, at dinner, but Ruby doesn’t need to know that.

Ruby squints at Blake disbelievingly, “So, what? You’re just magically gonna stop stressing?”

“Maybe all I needed was a good night’s sleep,” Blake pops an orange slice in her mouth.

Ruby groans and flops in the chair across from Blake. “Unbelievable. You spend too much time around my sister.” 

Blake winks, and begins to work again. She can feel Ruby watching her, but Blake is unwilling to look up. Ruby continues to stare at her for a while, and then snatches a paper and pencil from Blake and busies herself with it.

The companionable silence stretches on, both of them picking at the food. It’s nice, Blake supposes, to have company for once. Normally she likes to study alone, as her friends are rather loud and distracting. But it’s comforting to have a presence across the table, quietly working and studying.

Blake glances up at Ruby for a second, and feels her breath catch. Ruby is chewing quietly on a sandwich, sketching on the piece of paper. Her hair is sticking up at odd angles and mustard stains the corner of her mouth, but Blake is stricken by how pretty she is. Puberty hadn’t really had much of an effect on Ruby, she hadn’t grown much, and she still has her chubby cheeks and big bright eyes. 

But in this moment, her beauty strikes Blake as something rare and precious. The light is hitting her just right, making her eyes shine an unearthly silver. Blake traces her eyes over the straight, strong line of her jaw, up the smooth expanse of tanned cheek, and across her high cheekbones.

Blake definitely gets what Pyrrha sees in her.

Ruby looks up at her, and Blake stares like a deer in headlights. 

“What?” Ruby asks, voice muffled by sandwich. She swipes a hand over her mouth, smearing the mustard. “I got something on my face?”

“Uh, no. What are you drawing?” Blake asks, trying not to blush. She leans over to take a closer look at Ruby’s sketch.

Ruby blinks and says, “Erm, not really anything, just, the view.” For the second time in an hour, Blake finds herself losing her breath. It’s the view from over Blake’s head, with wide arching windows, and tables with various students stretching into the background. It’s just a sketch, half of the room shown in careful lines and smudged edges. Blake’s head is drawn curled over on the bottom half of the paper, the shading careful and precise, as if she was the first thing Ruby had drawn.

“Sometimes I forget what a good artist you are,” Blake comments, studying the detail on the windows.

Ruby shrugs sheepishly, “Well, I normally only draw weapons… and sometimes Grimm. Scenery isn’t normally my thing. I guess I was struck by the view? I don’t know,” Ruby laughs awkwardly, pink tinting her cheeks.

“Still, you’re incredible.” Blake traces the carefully shaded lines of her bow, awed. “Can I have this?”

“Uh, well, I’m not done yet, I gotta finish up the top and clean it up and stuff. But yeah I guess.” Ruby shuffles a little in her seat, “Can I give it to you later?”

“Sure,” Blake says, leaning back. “You can give it to me at dinner.”

Ruby grins widely at her. “Only if you actually show up! Don’t flake on me, woman!”

Blake grins back and says, “I don’t plan to.”

“Good!” Ruby’s grin gets impossibly bigger. “Now, you get back to studying. You still have a lot of work to get done!”

“Yes, sir.” Blake laughs, and Ruby’s eyes twinkle in the light.

For now, things look okay.

~~

Blake’s good mood carries her to dinner. Ruby left after an hour or two, but had left Blake in high spirits. She’s had a productive few hours, and she’s worked her way through a large amount of her studying.

She sets her tray down in her usual spot, and takes a long drink of water. It’s only Yang and Ruby at the table, the rest of the group off studying somewhere.

“Blake!” Yang shouts, grinning at her. “You made it!”

Blake smiles back, “Yeah, I got a lot done today, so I could make it.”

“And you’re going to get enough rest tonight, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Blake says, tearing open her salad.

“Maybe I should withhold this until you go to bed on time, then.” Ruby teases, waving a piece of paper at her.

“You finished it?” Blake reaches across the table to grab it, but Ruby pulls it out of her reach.

“Ah, ah!” Ruby clicks her tongue. “You gotta promise me that you’ll go to bed on time tonight!”

Blake rolls her eyes, “Yeah, yeah, I promise.” She snatches the paper out of Ruby’s hands, and looks at it hungrily. Ruby has cleaned it up, and added more details. It’s startlingly realistic. Blake could stare at it for hours.

Ruby chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. “So, do you like it?”

“I love it.” Blake says, tracing the lines with her eyes. “It’s amazing.”

Ruby ducks her head, blushing.

“Can I see it?” Yang asks, and Blake jumps. She’d forgotten Yang was even there. Yang raises an eyebrow at her, but just reaches out a hand for the drawing. Blake hands it to her, and Yang lets out a low whistle. “You’ve really improved, Ruby. I remember when you were drawing stick figures and putting suns in the corner of the paper.” Yang sighs, setting her chin on her hand. “Those were the good ol’ days.”

“Yang!” Ruby whines, shoving her sister’s shoulder. “Stop embarrassing me.”

Yang laughs at Ruby. “The only one here is Blake, and she’s heard way worse.”

“Still, stop it!” Ruby whines again, slapping Yang on the shoulder. “Ugh, this is why I hate hanging out with you!”

They bicker for a while, as Blake eats. She smiles at them, giggling along with Yang.

“Ugh, I’m leaving!” Ruby huffs, grabbing her tray and standing.

“Wow, someone’s been spending too much time around Weiss.” Yang laughs at her retreating back. She turns back to Blake with her huge grin still spread across her face. “Teenagers, right?”

Blake laughs. “You two are ridiculous.”

“What can I say?” Yang shrugs her shoulders, “We’re sisters, it’s in our blood.” Blake hums, gulping down the last of her water. 

“Soo… when’s the wedding?”

Blake furrows her eyebrows. “What?”

“That whole drawing thing, y’know. You and Ruby getting all misty eyed at each other…” Yang puts her head on her fists and bats her eyes. “‘I love it, it’s amazing, just like yoouuu…” Yang drawls, and Blake kicks her under the table.

“It’s not like that!” Blake insists, face red hot. Yang hums disbelievingly. “It’s really not, Yang.”

“Okay, sure. But you want it to be like that.” Yang says.

“No I don’t!” But a part of her sparks at Yang’s words. Maybe she does want it to be like that. Maybe she is pining. Just a little.

Yang raises her hands up in defeat, “Okay, okay, okay. I’ll leave it alone.”

“Thank you.” Blake says.

Yang still gives her one last wink before she changes the topic.

~~

Blake manages to sleep well that night, and in the morning she wakes up to a plate of pancakes and eggs on her bedside table.

"What?" Blake says aloud, sitting up.

"They're from Pyrrha." Weiss says. She's sitting on her bed, reading from a textbook. 

Yang is sitting on the floor next to Weiss's bed, with flashcards in hand. "She dropped them off, like, ten minutes ago, told us to make sure you eat them, then she grabbed Ruby by the arm and hauled her off." She winks at Blake, smirking a little.

Blake ignores her and grabs the plate. They're cold, but Blake can't really argue against breakfast in bed.

"Yang ate all the bacon, by the way." Weiss turns a page in her book. Blake shrugs. She isn't that fond of bacon anyway.

"Told you she wouldn't care," Yang says, twisting around to grin at Weiss. "Not everyone salivates over grease like you and Ruby."

Weiss huffs loudly. "I do not salivate over it! It’s unhealthy, in fact."

"You still salivate over it."

Blake snorts around a mouthful of pancake.

Weiss huffs again, and turns a page violently. "Whatever."

Yang makes eye contact with Blake and holds up her index fingers and thumbs in a W sign. "Whatever," She mouths exaggeratedly, and Blake laughs.

~~

The little acts of kindness from Pyrrha and Ruby continue for the next week.

Yang places a well timed cup of coffee on her desk and winks. "Courtesy of Pyrrha and Ruby."

Ruby brings her lunch, with a rough doodle of Pyrrha’s profile on the napkin. "I accept that you're busy, but you still need to get something in your stomach!" Ruby scolds, huffing.

Weiss hands her a stack of flashcards and demands Blake go through them with her. "You can't keep these, Pyrrha gave them to me. But they're well done and I think they'll help." Weiss shuffles them in her hands, looking for a good starting point.

Even Jaune comes by at one point, bringing a book on advanced Grimm behavior from the library. "Ruby finished with this, and she asked me to bring it to you. You’re in her class, right?" He flops it on the desk, wishes her luck and leaves.

Blake is bewildered, bemused and more than a little touched. It’s obvious that her friends are worried about her, and are trying to make her day easier. She wants to feel angry that they’re hovering, but instead she can’t help but feel a little pleased. After years on the streets, relying only on herself, she wants to be frustrated. She can obviously handle herself.

But it makes her feel loved, and that’s not something she can really complain about.

In an attempt to ignore that mess of complicated emotions, she has been throwing herself into her work with a passion. But it isn’t working exactly how she planned. And the new romantic side of her feelings isn’t helping either. 

Blake groans and lets her forehead fall in her palms. She can’t believe herself. As if having a crush on Pyrrha wasn’t bad enough, she had to go and fall for her team leader too.

She’d promised herself in her first year that she’d keep romance and friendship far away from each other. Falling for your teammates could be disastrous, for both her academics and her heart. And up until now, she’d been successful at controlling herself. But after two weeks of being off her game, she’s fallen so far.

She kind of hates herself a little bit for letting this happen.

Blake rests her head completely on her desk, and lets out a huge sigh.

A sudden knock on the door startles Blake out of her wallowing. “Ruby?” Pyrrha’s voice calls through the door. “Are you in there?”

Blake stands and opens the door. Pyrrha stands there, red faced and eyes bright with unshed tears. Her hands are tangled together, and her shoulders are scrunched up.

“Oh, um. I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was just looking for-” Pyrrha hiccups and scrubs a wide hand over her face.

“Are you okay?” Blake asks, grabbing Pyrrha’s wrist.

“Yes, Blake. I just-” Pyrrha sniffs loudly. “I told her.”

Blake furrows her brow, confused. “What?”

“Ruby. I told Ruby about my feelings.” Blake feels her heart ache suddenly, for both Pyrrha and herself. “It didn’t go well. She, um. Ran away.”

“Oh.” Blake stands there dumbly, staring at Pyrrha. Her heart is still aching in her chest, but she feels a selfish flash of hope.

Pyrrha stares back at her, lashes long and wet. “Can I come in? I really need someone to talk to.” Blake nods and steps aside. She watches Pyrrha’s gaze hover over Ruby’s haphazard bed, and then she perches on the edge of Blake’s bed. She sits sniffling, hunched up with shoulders near her ears, like she always does when she’s upset.

Blake walks carefully over and sits across from Pyrrha on Weiss’s bed. Pyrrha sniffs again and smiles a little, “Weiss is probably going to throw a fit about you wrinkling her bed.”

“Well, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” Blake says, smiling gently back at Pyrrha. Pyrrha looks at her for a long moment with those bright green eyes. “So, what happened?”

Pyrrha coughs a little and looks away, clutching Blake’s sheets. “We were, um, sitting in the library working like we always do. And I was helping her with Grimm Theory and she was ranting about how stupid it was.” Pyrrha gets this soft, yearning look on her face. “And suddenly I was struck by how… alive she looked.” Pyrrha smiles a little, and her eyes glaze over with that soft look. Blake’s heart squeezes again. “The light was hitting her in this way that made her eyes glow, and her hair was sticking up on the side like it always does. And she looked so… dazzling in the light. Do you know what I mean?”

“Y-yeah.” Blake says, breathless. Blake can see it perfectly, two young girls sitting side by side in the low afternoon of the library, surrounded by books. They’re leaning together, shoulders touching, giggling. Trying to study but too distracted by each other. One looking up at the other, with light playing gently over their faces. She can see the moment of silence, the catch of breath, the ache. It’s innocent and young. They are just two girls in love, or in lust, or in yearning, or whatever it is they are feeling, caught in the light and in the moment.

Blake feels her heart squeeze and ache again, and she feels a mistake bubbling in her chest.

“And… I was thinking about how beautiful and alive she looked. And she turned to me and she asked me a question and I just kind of... blurted it out.” Pyrrha sighs and shakes her head a little bit. “And she just… ran. I’ve been looking for her for the past hour or so but no luck.” Blake is silent, staring at Pyrrha with her heart hammering in her chest and her mind flashing with images of two wide eyed girls.

Blake will never fit in with these bright eyed, innocent girls. She is too jaded, too dark. These two are made of sunlight and innocence. But she desperately craves to be a part of it, to be a part of them.

But Pyrrha looks up at Blake at that moment, and Blake feels the rest of her oxygen leave her lungs. Pyrrha’s eyes are impossibly bright. She feels herself transported back to earlier this week, in the library, when Ruby looked at her in the same way.

“Blake?”

Blake’s chest squeezes impossibly tight, and that mistake spills right out of her chest.

“I want you so badly.” Blake breathes, staring wide eyed.

Pyrrha blinks and leans back a little. “What?”

“What?” Blake says, blinking.

“B-blake, you-” Pyrrha gapes at her, blinking rapidly. “You have feelings for me?”

“Um…” Blake’s mind is blank and scrambling. She can feel red hot heat fill her cheeks.

“Blake, I… I had no idea. I’m sorry. I was so caught up in-” Blake stands suddenly, and Pyrrha stands too. Pyrrha reaches for her, but Blake leaps out of reach. “Blake, wait.”

But Blake runs away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RUNS AWAY LIKE A DAMN FOOL.


	3. Your Heart Is Bleeding (mine is bleeding too)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things and feelings get resolved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kicked my ass. But! It’s here and it’s done and I like it enough to post it.
> 
> There’s some POV changes in this chapter because I couldn’t tell the story I wanted to tell without some switches. I think I made it pretty easy to follow, but sorry if it’s confusing or if it bothers you!
> 
> Note: In this fic, Beacon finals are a week long, and consist of a mix of both physical and written exams. The physical exams are considered to be a lot easier than the written exams, although both parts are difficult. That’s why they’ve been doing a lot of studying but not a lot of training.
> 
> Chapter title (and fic title) is from Ceiling of Plankton by Givers

The tension drained out of Pyrrha’s shoulders the moment she stepped out of the exam hall. She rolled them back, rubbing at her stiff neck and stretching. The week had been stressful, but she didn’t have to think about it anymore. She had three days before the results came in, and another two after that before school officially let out.

Then it was summer. Wonderful, stress-free, summer. She’d be able to hide away for three months and not think of the absolute disaster she’d made of her relationships.

She couldn’t wait.

“Pyrrha!” Yang slings an arm around her shoulders, jolting her out of her thoughts. “How do you think you did?”

Pyrrha smiles, and slings an arm around Yang in return. “I think I did alright. There was nothing that I didn’t recognize, but I doubt that I am going to get a perfect score.”

“Same, honestly. I’m just glad it’s over.” Yang nudges Pyrrha. “Hey, you wanna get a drink? I found a new bar, and it’s a pretty chill place.”

Pyrrha shakes her head and says, “No thank you. I just want to nap after all that.”

Yang nodded, “Yeah I get that.”

They walk together to the dorms, chatting idly about the exams. They turn the corner and Pyrrha freezes. Blake and Ruby are standing there together outside of their dorm room, talking. Pyrrha feels her heart ache as she looks at them. She looks at Ruby’s bowed head and she wonders if they’re talking about her.

“So, that’s still a mess, huh?” Yang says, watching Pyrrha watch them.

“Yeah,” Pyrrha says faintly. She really fucked that one up, didn’t she? Ruining one friendship with an ill-timed love confession, then turning around and letting another one burn without even noticing. She feels so stupid and oblivious, not seeing what was right in front of her. Especially since, well, it isn’t like she hadn’t been thinking about Blake that way.

She’d always thought Blake was beautiful, with her dark skin and bright eyes. But Blake always had exuded this serious, distant aura. She was hard on the surface, all sharp angles and cool glares. But slowly she had revealed a different side of her. Beneath the part of her that was calloused by years of hardship, there was a yielding softness to her.

But Pyrrha had pushed the attraction out of her head. Blake (usually while very inebriated) had talked on multiple occasions on how important it was that she had finally found a family within team RWBY and JNPR. She hadn’t wanted to take that trust and love, and ruin it with something as inconsequential as dating.

And now she’d ruined that anyway by being an oblivious fool. She hadn’t read between the lines, hadn’t noticed Blake’s feelings and done something about them. She really feels like a moron.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, you know.” Yang says gently, placing a hand on Pyrrha’s shoulder. “It’s ok to not return someone’s feelings.”

Pyrrha sighs, “At this point, I don’t even know what I feel. I messed up, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

“You talk to them, that’s how.”

Pyrrha sighs again, rubbing her forehead. “You know what, Yang? I could actually really use that drink.”

Yang laughs and knocks her shoulder into Pyrrha’s. “C’mon, heartbreaker. I’ll buy first round.”

~~

Blake is lounging on her bed, reading, when suddenly the lock starts to turn. She hears a jangle of keys being dropped and a loud, “Damn it!” 

Blake sighs, weighing her options; she’s just started this book and it’s starting to get good, but whoever is out there just dropped their keys for the second time.

Ruby is fumbling again with the lock on the door when Blake swings it open. Ruby blinks and looks up at Blake.

“It was already unlocked.” Blake says.

“Ah. That’s probably why it wasn’t…” Ruby waves a hand around. “...unlocking.”

“Hmm.” Blake raises an eyebrow, but Ruby stops her with a hand on the arm before she can go back into the dorm.

“Um, Blake? Can I ask you for some advice?” 

Blake thinks longingly of her book, and how happy she was to finally be able to read it after the hell that was finals.

“Sure, whats up?” She says, leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb.

“I just…” Ruby trails off, poking her fingers together. “I was wondering if Pyrrha talked to you at all?”

Blake feels her heart sink. She’d thought that maybe after finals this whole heartbreaking mess would blow over, but no. She’s still right in the thick of it.

“Not since before finals.” Blake pauses a moment before asking, “Has she said anything to you?”

“No… not since before finals.” Ruby looks embarrassed, “She kinda stopped wanting to talk to me after-”

“After she confessed to you and you responded by running away and avoiding her?” Blake says bluntly. Ruby flinches a little bit. Blake feels a stab of guilt. It’s not like she isn’t doing the exact same thing as Ruby is.

“Yeah. After I did that.” Ruby sighs and rubs her sleeve over her face. “I just freaked out when she confessed. I didn’t know what to say, or what to do… I hadn’t even thought about her actually-” Ruby cuts herself off and rubs her face in her sleeve again. Blake realizes, with a sick jolt, that Ruby is holding back tears. “I was just surprised and scared, and I messed up. And now I don’t know what to do.”

“You tell her the truth.” Blake says, gently touching Ruby’s arm. “You say, ‘I’m sorry, Pyrrha but I don’t return your feelings.”

Ruby looks at Blake with wide and teary eyes. “But that’s just it, Blake! I do like her back! That’s why I’m so scared.” 

Blake’s heart pangs. Now she’s going to have to watch her two crushes date each other, and be happy, and probably fall in-

Blake stops herself. She swallows her selfishness down and looks Ruby in the eye. “The only thing to do is to just go for it. Say that you fucked up, and got scared and ran away. But you want to take a chance. And then you date her.”

“But-”

“Ruby, are you really going to do this? The girl you like wants to date you, and you’re just gonna run away and let it pass you by?”

Ruby swallows and looks down at her feet. They stand there for a tense moment, Ruby looking down at the floor, face unreadable, and Blake staring hard at Ruby.

When Ruby looks up, her face is set in determination, and she says, “I’m going to do it.”

“Good. Can I go back to my book now?” Blake says. She can feel her heart aching in her chest, begging her to stop sabotaging herself. But she’s determined to give the people she loves the happiness they deserve, with or without her.

“Oh! Yeah.” Ruby says, rubbing the back of her head. “I’m actually going to take a nap, finals kicked my ass.”

“Ok, great.” Blake turns and goes back to her bed, and pretends to start reading again. She waits until Ruby’s soft snores fill the room before curling up underneath her own blanket and giving into the urge to cry.

~~

Blake didn’t expect to be in the room when Ruby asks.

She also didn’t expect Pyrrha to be incredibly hungover.

She’s lying on her bed, halfway through her book, when Pyrrha stumbles in holding Yang’s jacket and bag. Pyrrha is actually wearing sunglasses indoors, and Blake almost laughs.

“Don’t say it,” Pyrrha croaks, rubbing her forehead. “The painkillers haven’t kicked in yet and I can’t think with this headache and I’m just here to drop off the stuff Yang left in our dorm.”

“How much did you even drink? You never get hangovers.”

“I did drink… quite a bit.” Pyrrha admits sheepishly.

Blake laughs, but stifles it when Pyrrha winces. “Sorry, sorry.” Blake apologizes, smiling at Pyrrha. Pyrrha smiles back, and they’re silent for a moment, staring at each other. Blake realizes that this is the first time they’ve talked since the... mess went down. Maybe things can go back to normal.

“Hey, Pyrrha,” Ruby’s voice shocks them both out of their stares and they both turn to look at Ruby. She’s standing in the bathroom door, her toned arms crossed and her hair sticking up at odd angles. She has the same look she gets when she faces down a particularly powerful monster; all her nerves have melted away for this exact moment of truth. “I have a question for you.”

Oh, fuck no. Blake does not want to be here for this. She’s made her peace with the situation, but she still doesn’t want to be witness to this. But before she can make her excuses and leave, Ruby asks, “Do you want to go to town tonight? At 6?”

“Uh, sure.” Pyrrha’s head moves almost imperceptibly towards Blake, as if she’s glancing quickly at her behind her sunglasses. Blake sits quietly, watching it play out.

“I mean, on a date.”

“Oh!” Pyrrha says, and her head shifts as if she’s startled. She seems to be shocked still, and she moves her sunglasses up with a slight wince so she can look at Ruby directly. “Um, yes, I’d love that.”

Ruby’s face lights up and she says, “Okay, cool!” They smile at each other for a long moment, before Blake clears her throat. When they both blush and look away, Blake raises an eyebrow.

“Well, I’m going to go I guess. Leave you guys to it.” Blake says, standing and heading for the door. 

“Wait!” Pyrrha says, and grabs Blake’s arm. For a second, Blake thinks that Pyrrha is going to do something terrible like start to talk about feelings or some shit, but she just places Yang’s jacket into Blake’s hand. “If you see Yang, can you give her this? Her wallet and scroll are in there.”

“Sure,” Blake says. slinging the jacket over her shoulder. It smells like an entire bar threw up on it, but she ignores the smell in favor of leaving the room as quickly as possible.

She can feel both Pyrrha and Ruby watching her leave, but she just keeps walking.

~~

It isn’t until Blake gets to the library that she realizes that she forgot her book.

She wanders through the shelves anyway, letting her fingers drag over the spines of the books. She sighs and flicks through a few dull books and tries to make herself feel something beyond the aching numbness radiating out from her chest.

She eventually finds herself at her usual corner of the library on the second floor. As she rounds a corner, she sees a familiar blonde facedown on the floor below a table.

“Yang?” Blake asks, ducking down to look at her. Yang groans unintelligibly in response. “Are you okay?”

“Kinda,” Yang groans. “But I’m mostly dead.”

“Oh,” She reaches under the table and begins to drag Yang out from under it. After a few tugs on her arm, Yang begins to move herself. She lets Blake situate her in a chair with her water canteen, her hair frizzing out from her head in a wild tangle.

“Fun night?” Blake asks, muffling her laughter at Yang’s crazy mane of hair and smudged makeup.

“Fuck, dude, we went so hard last night.” Yang says, tilting her head back.

“Yeah?” Blake says, laughing outright now. “And it ended in the library?”

“Nah, I slept the night in Pyrrha’s room. But the JNPR room is so loud in the mornings I came here to sleep. I love Nora, but she was bouncing off the walls and it was killing me.” When Blake just hums quietly, sobered at the reminder of Pyrrha’s existence, Yang tilts her head and asks, “Why you looking blue?”

“Just… stuff.” Blake waves her hand absentmindedly, “Stupid stuff.”

“Pyrrha and Ruby stuff?”

Blake pauses. She hasn’t talked to anyone about this yet. She’d thrown herself into her work to distract herself from the drama, and she hasn’t sure if she is ready to open up about it. But if she is going to talk to anyone, it might as well be non-judgemental, supportive Yang.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Yang says, reading Blake indecisive pause as discomfort. “But I’ve been told I’m a good listener. And everyone else has talked to me about this.”

“They have?” Blake asks, curious.

“Yeah. Good listener, remember?” Yang winks.

Blake smiles a little and puts her head in her hand. “It’s not that complex, really. It’s just me being an idiot.”

Yang frowns, “It’s not stupid to have feelings.” When Blake doesn’t reply Yang’s frown deepens, “Hey. What’s up?”

Blake takes a deep breath, and bites the bullet, “I was just in the room as Ruby finally asked Pyrrha out once and for all.”

“Yikes. How’d that feel?”

“I don’t really know. Last night, I had all these feelings about this but now I’m just…” Blake trails off, staring at the table between them.

“Like, ‘Oh. I guess this really is happening.’”

“Yeah. I don’t know how to feel anymore. I’m happy for them and everything, but…”

“But it still sucks.”

“Yes. Exactly.” Blake looks up at Yang, who takes a long sip of her water. “You have some experience with this heartbreak stuff, huh.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess I do.” Yang fiddles with her water, suddenly shy. “I went through a lot of this kinda stuff back when I had that crush on Weiss.”

Blake blinks. “I forgot about that.”

Yang sighs, “Yeah. I don’t like her like that as much anymore, but that took a while. And it didn’t help that I was right by her side when she was dating all those guys and trying to figure out her sexuality and stuff. Hell, she was constantly asking me for advice. I guess she saw these,” Yang gestures to her chest, “and automatically assumed I had a lot of experience.”

“That sucks.” Blake says.

“Yeah, it did suck. But I’m over her. Just like you’ll get over this mess.” Yang reaches a hand across the table, and Blake takes it. “Believe it or not, girls can’t completely ruin your life.”

Blake scoffs, “Yeah, right. They already have.”

Yang laughs, but immediately she winces at the loud sound. Blake starts to laugh too, and she feels okay.

~~

Ruby feels as if she’s on top of the world. She’s done with her finals, it’s finally summer (her favorite time of the year!), she’s on a date with a gorgeous girl who she really really likes, and there’s even a perfect breeze ruffling her hair. Nothing could make this night more perfect.

“What’s next?” Pyrrha says, jerking Ruby out of her thoughts.

“Well,” Ruby says, feeling her chest swell up at Pyrrha’s perfect smile directed at her, “We window-shopped, we ate, and now we’re on a walk in the park… What else is there to do on a date?”

Pyrrha’s grin grows impossibly bigger, just like it does every time Ruby mentions that they’re on a date. A perfect, wonderful, date. 

“I guess we could go down to the pond?” Pyrrha suggests, gesturing to a nearby path.

“Okay!” Ruby smiles, and they begin to wander down the path. They’re quiet for a long time, their hands brushing occasionally and smiling goofily. Ruby doesn't think this night could get any better.

Except if Ruby could get Blake out of her head. She can’t seem to shake the bewildering expression on Blake’s face as Ruby had asked Pyrrha out. She had looked so… sad. As if Ruby was cracking Blake’s heart in two.

She’d never seen Blake make that face before.

Pyrrha nudges and Ruby and breaks her out of her thoughts. “Are you alright?”

Ruby looks up at Pyrrha and smiles brightly, “Yeah, just thinkin.”

“About…?”

“When I asked you out earlier today, Blake made a weird face.”

Pyrrha’s smile dies for a split second, but she quickly plasters on a fake smile. “A face? Like what kind of face?”

“Just a face. I couldn't tell what was up.” When Pyrrha’s face falls, Ruby quickly elaborates, “It wasn't like disapproval or anything. It was almost… heartbroken. It was weird.”

Pyrrha stops suddenly, and turns her face away from Ruby.

“Pyrrha?”

“I… have a confession to make.” Pyrrha says, shifting awkwardly.

“A confession?”

“You know that we’ve been having some drama, right?”

“Yeah?”

“And it’s because I’ve been having… feelings for you,” Ruby smiles and grabs Pyrrha’s hands, squeezing them gently in encouragement. “Well, I’m not the only one that’s been having feelings.”

Ruby cocks her head in confusion.

“Oh lord how do I say this,” Pyrrha says, “Blake confessed that she has - or at least had - feelings for me. Almost immediately after I confessed to you.”

Ruby’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. She looks down in thought, analyzing the new information. Blake likes Pyrrha, Pyrrha likes Ruby, and Ruby likes...

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Ruby asks, looking back up at Pyrrha. “I probably - oh god I probably accidentally broke Blake’s heart!”

Ruby puts her head in her hands and groans.

“We could’ve… I could’ve… Pyrrha I went to her for advice! Advice about asking you out!” 

“You asked me out in front of her, too.”

“No wonder she looked so…” Ruby trails off, thinking back on Blake’s poor, sad face.

“Yeah,” Pyrrha says glumly. “I know.”

Ruby falls silent, staring off into space. She can feel a feeling bubbling in her chest, like that time her dad had let her have a glass of champagne at New Years. Something about the thought of Blake liking Pyrrha, of being involved in this feeling.

Ruby isn't very good at feelings, but she's pretty sure of this one.

“I have an idea.”

Pyrrha cocks her head confusedly, “An idea?”

~~

Blake is sitting on the quad, sipping tea and staring out at the distant city lights. It’s a hot, muggy night and the slight breeze feels good on her exposed arms.

As she sits there, she thinks of the past two weeks. She thinks of Pyrrha and Ruby, their shy blushes and shy smiles. She thinks of their secret glances to each other, the way they look at each other across the table at lunches, and the way they always seem to know what the other is thinking.

“Blake!” 

She looks up, and there they are. Ruby is sprinting up to her, and Pyrrha is just a step behind her.

“Blake!” Ruby repeats, skidding to a stop. Both of them look exhilarated, as if they have a deeper understanding of the universe now that the stars have aligned for whatever reason. 

“Uh-”

“I want to tell you something,” Pyrrha says. She exchanges a glance with Ruby and then steps forward. “Can you stand up please?”

Blake puts her tea aside and stands, slowly. “What’s going on?”

“I want to kiss you,” Blake’s eyes widen, and her mouth drops open. Ruby’s grin extends from ear to ear. “And so does Ruby. And we want to kiss each other.”

“Um.”

“And I don’t know if you want that. Or even if you’re okay with that. But we were hoping you’d feel the same way.”

Blake’s head is spinning. This must be a dream. She can hardly believe that this is happening to her. “Uh. Okay.”

“Okay?” Pyrrha asks, biting her lip.

“Yeah. Sure.”

Pyrrha steps forward and puts a hand gently on the side of Blake’s face. She takes a breath, as if to say something, then stops herself. She leans in and presses her mouth gently to Blake’s for just a moment, then pulls back a centimeter. Her eyes are open, looking deeply into Blake’s.

Before Pyrrha can say something, Blake surges forward and kisses Pyrrha deeply. They stand there for a minute, their mouths moving together in sync, before Ruby coughs. They pull away with a start.

“I’m so sorry - choked on my spit - please continue,” Ruby chokes, red-faced.

Blake laughs quietly. “You okay?”

“Yep, yep. Just fine. Please don’t let me stop you.”

Pyrrha pulls her hand out of Blake’s hair where it had tangled itself, and takes a step back.

“So, we should probably talk.”

“Yeah, we should,” Blake says, straightening her hair with a hand.

There’s a pause before Ruby breaks the ice. “I want all of us to date. Each other. All at once.” 

“What if… I don’t know. What if one of us gets jealous?” Blake asks.

“Well, let’s try something then.” Ruby says.

Ruby suddenly spins around and puts a hand on Pyrrha’s hand, gently tugging her down. Blake can see the expression on Pyrrha’s face perfectly. Her eyes widen, then soften, then close. She can’t look away from them, pressed close together.

They pull away slowly, and Blake watches Pyrrha’s tongue swipe slowly against her lower lip. Ruby turns to Blake and swallows. “ Good?”

Blake nods, “Good.”

Ruby leans in and kisses Blake next. Her mouth is soft and warm against Blake’s, and she lets her mouth open against her. For a long moment, they kiss. Blake feels her heart rise, a bird inside her chest.

They separate with a quiet sound, and Blake stares at her.

Ruby looks a little dazed, “Okay,”

Blake slowly breaks into a grin. “Okay,”

Pyrrha lets out a choked sound and Blake’s eyes snap to her, “Okay indeed.”

Ruby looks back at Pyrrha with sparkling eyes. “I guess you don’t have to worry about being jealous, huh?”

Pyrrha coughs once. “Uh, no. I don’t have to worry.”

Blake laughs, then Ruby, then Pyrrha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And they live happily ever after. :x
> 
> ~fin~


End file.
